History

From 1094 until the Reformation, the centre of Catholic worship in Lancaster was St. Mary’s Priory (near the castle). However, life changed for Catholics during the reign of King Henry VIII. Henry had no male heir and he wanted to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope would not allow this so Henry decided to break away from the church in Rome and make himself head of the church in England. In 1559, the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity established the Church of England and it became compulsory to attend the new form of worship.

The celebration of Mass was made illegal so Catholics had to practise their religion in secret. Those who were discovered were persecuted and many died for their faith. In the sanctuary of this cathedral is a brass plaque on which is engraved the names of the 15 martyrs who gave their lives for the Catholic faith, and were executed on Gallow Hill (at the top of Low Moor opposite the bottom gate of Williamson’s Park, where there is now a monument to the Martyrs). Pope John Paul II beatified these martyrs in 1988.

Although Catholic worship was illegal, there is evidence of mass being celebrated in Lancaster in 1712 at a private house in Mason Street, off St Leonardsgate. In 1791, the Relief Act at last made it lawful for Catholics to build churches, after which Dr. John Rigby set about providing a place of worship. A chapel was built in Dalton Square and was opened for worship on March 1st 1799 (This is now the Palatine Hall). When Dr. Rigby died in 1818, he was buried in front of the altar in this chapel but his body was later removed and placed in the newly formed cemetery in 1860. A memorial to John Rigby can be found on the wall of the south transept in the cathedral.

The first priest to be appointed to the chapel in Dalton Square in April 1819 was Dr. George Brown. He later became Bishop of Liverpool and his nephew became the priest in Lancaster.

By the 1840’s the Dalton Square chapel had become too small for the growing congregation so in 1847, a 3 acre plot was bought at Greenfield for £2,200. The school, convent and graveyard were built first with space being left to build a church as soon as funds became available.

In 1856, several sums of money became available for the building of a church including £2000, which was left to the church by a Thomas Coulston in his will. A year later, plans were drawn up under the guidance of the Rev. Richard Brown. On April 29th 1857, the foundation stone of the church was laid by Dr. Goss, the Bishop of Liverpool and on October 4th 1859, the church was consecrated and dedicated to St. Peter, prince of the Apostles, in a service lead by Dr. Goss.

After this time, the population of Lancaster has increased and the work undertaken by the Catholic Church has developed. In 1924, the Liverpool diocese was divided and St. Peter’s became the cathedral for the new Diocese of Lancaster.